♪ world leaders gather to pay their last respects. plus, deadline pressure for lawmakers trying to finish their work before the holiday break. and snow, blowing through the east coast including washington the nation's capitol giving some federal worker as day off.

more than 90 wormed leaders are in south africa, they are there to mourn the death of nelson mandela. they came bespite driving rains that may have cut down on their numbers but not their spirit. south africa shows what is true. south africa shows we can change. that we can choose a world defined not by our differences but by our common hopes. we can choose a world defined not by conflict, but by peace. and justice. and opportunity. >> the occasion even bringing together unlikely pairs tens of thousands of spectators standing for hours in the rain, to celebrate the life of the former south african president. ♪ the life and legacy of a man who changed his nation and a world was celebrated in south after ca. >> you are lodged in our memory. you power over the world.

we salute you. >> we must ask how well have i applied his lessons in my own life. and while i will all fall short, of his example, he makes me want to be a better man. he speaked to what's best inside us. we do not call madiba the father of our nations, merely for political correctness, orel vance. we do so because he layed a firm foundation for the south africa of our dreams. one that is united nonracial, non-sexist,

democratic, and prosperous. the diversity of speakers led to some interesting moments. a hand shake that will not be well received by some in america. but the day was not about politics, it was about a man a man who was the face of man's humanity to man. >> also braving the rains in south africa, reporting from johannesburg all day. >> well, it's been a long and historic day here. as world leaders and south africans gather to remember and to celebrate nelson mandela. the gates opened at about 6:30 here, people flooded in. the rain just pours down all day long, so that may have kept the attendan down just a little bit. we figure 80,000 or so at

tops in this 92,000 seat stadium, interestingly, president barack obama got the biggest cheers of the day, and south african president was booed whenever his face appears on the big screen. the president apparently out of favor with some in south africa right now. a tremendous energic dancing chanting stomping crowd on hand, and here is the way some of them looked at the important of this dre. >> we no no, you have to be happy, for everything that is done. we are so happy, happy, we hope you will make sure that we keep each and everything that hesitates as a south african, and all of the world. >> some of the people in

that stadium were there for nine hours. nine long soggy hours. his body will lie in state for the next three years. he will buried in his home village on sunday. >> that is al jazeera's allen, again, recapping the events that have taken place, and the events that are still to come. south africa and the world will still have a few more days to pay tribute, beginning tomorrow, and running through friday, his body will lie in state at the union buildings. on saturday, his remains will be flown to his rural childhood village in the eastern cape province, and then on sunday, as you heard, allen say there will be a state funeral, he will be layed to rest after that service. bill clinton's former chief of staff is joining the obama administration. set to been a senior counselor to the president, the move comes as the president struggle

with public opinion over his signature healthcare law. his approval ratings are at all time lows. a outside advisor to the president since 2008. >> the senator today confirming the president's first judicial nominee, patricia millet was confirmed by a vote. and the vote was mostly along party lines with the democratting holding the majority, in the past republicans filibuster to block those votes but the new rules made today's vote possible. when while, the fist session coming to a close, but there is still a lot to be done before they head home for the holidays. several major pieces still need to be approved including the budget and the farm bill. our correspondent is in washington, and mike, all eyes are on that farm bill, because if it is not past, thousanded could lose their food stamps right before the holidays. >> there's a whole host of repercussions. one of those typical

bills that not many people pay attention to, but there are billions of dollars at stake, and they say they are old programs that have been in place for decades, therm meant as a social safety net. some are getting subsidies from the government. farmers that don't even farm, getting subsidies. a watchdog group, one of them is taxpayers for common sense, has been very critical. here is josh from that group. >> programs that are guaranteeing farmers will not lose money, and are

also guaranteeing they will make more profit. >> now, if that farm bill expires without it being renewed and keep in mind, dale, that the house of representatives is due to leave town for good for this year on december 13th, of course that's this coming friday, they won't be back until mid january, if they don't act on the farm bill, and it expires one consequence a possible doubling in the price of milk. language that was written in the 1930's. that would result in a doubling of the price of milk. so bad news all around here, if washington can't get its about together. >> mike, i have to ask you, what about the budget? are we looking at the possibility of another government shut down? >> we are not at the moment. there's not a great deal of urgency, now, let me explain, december 13th another deadline, because the house again is leaving for the rest of the year, this is a deadline that congress imposed on itself.

they want to come together and get at least a frame work. there shall signs that they are coming together to agree on a budget, but a lot of groups are already coming out against what is taking shape, at least in the press, includes some of those super packets. like heritage action, very influential, ideological groups say it doesn't do enough to cut spending and of course there is the food stamp question that a lot of people want to see rolled into this which would be another item, dale. and that -- a lot of that may hinge on what they are able to include or not include, to see whether they get a deal by friday. >> at the white house, mike, thank you very much. our white house correspondent, also on capitol hill. john kerry is in the hot seat.

he is testifying before the house current affairs. he is facing some tough questions from lawmaker whose are skeptical that iran will hold up its end of the bargain. our libby casey is live, and libby, what concerns to members of congress have and how has secretary kerry responded thus far? >> well, this is the secretary of state's first time testifying before congress, on that interim iran deal that was brokered last month, so this is the first opportunity members have to publicly push back and ask questions and like you said, put them in the hot seat. so led by chairman ed voice, a republican of california, they are asking questions along the lines if sanctions are working. if that was a good leverage point, why ease back, why give iran room, if as the members say, they are not seeing iran do enough. they would like iran to go further, chairman royce asked if really there's any guarantee that iran would stop

manufacturing nuclear fuel, or wouldn't go to that stage. and that is not a clear part of the agreement. democrats also asking tough questions top democrat on this panel, elliot engle of new york, secretary kerry for working on this interim deal, but said we have to make sure that iran sticks to its end of the bargain, and if they are not willing to stop the enrichment, how do we know they are serious. so secretary kerry hearing all of this, expecting these questions his push back was that we have to have this process, and the loosens of sanctions we are talking about is in his words fairly minimal. they are talking about six to $7 billion. he says that is small compared to the $100 billion even more than that that has been hit to iran's economy since sanctions were first imposed. get a sense of how secretary kerry is push back. >> once implemented and lit be in the next weeks this agreement halts the progress of iran's nuclear program.

halts the progress. and roms it back in certain places for the first time. nearly ten years. it provides unprecedented monitoring. while we negotiate to see if we can conclude a comprehensive agreement. >> meanwhile, over in the senate, a couple of members including a top democrat are working on a bill that would impose sanctions if iran doesn't act. he doesn't want to see that happen, and we will see what comes of this deal. >> washington also watching the skies as we know just a few inches can shut down the city if it snows, so if that happens, are lawmakers losing days because of ice and snow?

the federal government closed today, congress still in session. there's not a dooms day scenario, but john boehner says he planned to send house members home if there is a big deal, he may keep them, but hi says you know how i am, i stick to what i say. >> as you heard, two days of being slammed by snow and ice, dave yes, the weather pattern has not changed. we are getting snow and ice over the same areas. but this is the last one. that image shows the snow coming down. and we are looking at the radar plus the clouds.

it's moved out, so all of the main roads even if it is just below freezing with the temperature, which very few places are, they are just wet right now. it could get a little slippery. now the outlook will start to see some snow developing. this is the cold arctic blast coming in. tomorrow below freezing no snow, but there's the first hint of what we request expect. >> dave, thank you very much. french president francoise is on his way to the central african republic. two french soldiers killed there, they were there trying to disarm rebel groups. american forces also joining in.

>> well the two french soldiers who were killed come from the 8th paratrooper regiment. they died on monday night in fighting among themselves now they have come in quite strong, disarming sell cain this shut. i think they didn't realize how complicated that would be. semicahas been handing over their arms but some have not been doing that, and there's also been targeting of muslims in the city business chris thans and the french are intervening there as well. we have seen french forces out and about patrolling today as well as african forces. this is extremely tense right now, but we do know that francoise is arriving here later on, he will be at the air

force, and when he arrived what he will see, are tens of thousands of people who have lost their homes, displaced, in fear for their lives and finding protection at the airport with the french and african forces. >> joining us. following three weeks of protests ukrainian president says he wants to keep good relations with both europe and russia. hungs of thousands have taken over. many are angry over the decision to turn away from the union and strengthen those ties with russia. thailand's prime minister says she is not going to resign ahead of elections that are scheduled for february, pleading with antigovernment demonstrators to clear the streets. she wants them to back collections that she is calling for on monday, protest leaders say they want her to step down within 24 hours says they

are now in charge. at least five people have been killed since that unrest began there. a new female driveser behind the wheel. a ceo has been named a general motors.

rule is important because we want to make sure we are protecting deposits that are federally insured. we don't want to endanger those that are insured by

the government. >> named after paul vole kerr, the former federal reserve chairman, it bans banks to take deposits from engaging in so called proprior tear trading. widely seen as the center piece of the dock frank wall street we form, the vole kerr rule has become contentious, because unlike glass seagull it does not ban all trading. >> banks can still trade securities or execute trades for their customers. and for years now, regulators have been rangeling with how to distinguish those ben nine trades from ones that can harm a bank. those who favor a tough interpretation, point to the six with dollars trading loss jpmorgan chase incurred in the london wails scandal. the rule is already having an impact on wall street. even just knowing it is coming most of the banks have gotten rid of their own trading. >> whether the rule tames the excesses, only time

will tell. al jazeera, new york. >> critics arguing the rule will force banks to cut back on lending to small businesses hutting investment and job growth. concern about when the fed may start easing its monetary stimulus program, keeping stocks in the red at this hour, the dow down, right now about 39 points the s&p 500 also losing ground at close today at an all time record high. on yesterday. a milestone in the auto industry, g.m. will be the first major car company to have a woman chief executive, mary berry will succeed next month. she is currently in charge of product development, this news coming a day after the verb surery department announced it sold off its remaining stake in general motor. a texas woman is pleading guilty to sending president obama messages with poison.

the former actress -- she faces up to 18 years in prison. >> coming up on al jazeera america, snowy weather, giving the northeast back with your national forecast, stay with us.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here are today's headlines. the 90 world leaders joining a crowd numbers in the thousands in johannesburg, paying tribute to nelson mandela. president obama was among the speakers and yes, he did shake hands with cuban president raul castro. lawmakers are back in washington and the pressure is on to end the year in a productive note. congress has to vote on the list of issue as massive defense bill and a farm bill, but perhaps the biggest issue once again is the budget. >> the international space station turning 15 today. but at a cost of

$180 billion some are wondering if the investment was worth it. shows us what life is like onboard. >> the international space station orbits 300-kilometers above the earth. 2 1/2 years after if completed if it is onboard are now focused on research, but science in space comes at a price, in this case, a hefty $150 billion for construction, and another $2 billion a year to keep it running. >> it was held with developing drugs for example, that chemical and biological reas in the absence -- and we can determine the way this takes place, and perhaps emphasize new drugs and cures for cancer, who knows. these are completely unpredictable. >> the states that combine the effort of the

u.s. russian european space agencies and has been visited by astronauts from 15 different countries. but how does its cost compare to other big scientific projects? >> the large collider in southern france costs $10 billion to build. this year it discovers the particle a significant advance in the world of physics. compare that to $9 billion a year spent on research and cancer, and then there's nasa costly robotic mars rover. curiosity. the mission cos two preponderate $5 billion. >> rem on the space station has included looking a the prolongs effects of space on humans, important if there's to be further manned exploration for the solar system. >> you haven't seen a noble prize winning discovery coming off the back of this, at least not yet. that's value to believe a whole range of sciences from medicine, to biology, the semiconductor physics and

building structures in space. >> vegetables are important for your health, so today i have chosen dried spinach. >> but it is not all serious science. canadian astronaut introduced millions of people to life and research on the station earlier this year. >> his soldiers written and recorded in space, and his prolific photography are hugely popular online. stations expected to be operational for the next 15 years and in that time, hope the scientific findings and the new technologies twod will eventually justify the costs. >> al jazeera. ♪ the view from space, seeing satellites plus the radar that's the view from the surface of the radar picks up the snow, and the rain that is out there.

still some know around connecticut and massachusetts. this area was over here now it is over there. that's what we can expect here for the next two to three hours. 5:00 o'clock the snows out of philadelphia, washington, baltimore, but still coming down around boston, and again a plot of the snows coming down, but the main roads are fine, because they have been treated and the temperature is about freezing. the side roads they will be a little bit slippery, now here comes the lake effect snow, this is bitter cold air coming in, wednesday and thursday, temperatures will be going down, they are not going up, in fact they will be cropping quite a bit. a good 12 inches of snow at least in some areas close to the great lakes as the lake effect snows pick up wednesday, and thursday. temperatures no uh are above freezing in new york, philadelphia, washington, so the main roads look to be fine, could be a little slippery overnight tonight as these numbers drop, and really dropping in minneapolis now down

to five with bitter cold wind chills. warnings are in effect there because we can expect temperatures to feel like they are ten to 20 below, lit be about 30 to how below as the wind picks up. highs tomorrow, not even up to the freezing mark, so temperatures are getting colder, this is bitter cold air coming in and here is the areas that can see a good amount of snow wednesday and thursday. that lake effect snow picks up, looks like it could be in western new york there, and really could see significant snowfall amounts in these areas 12 to 18 inches are predicted both wednesday and thursday. >> thank you very much. around the world as we have been reported, tributes continue to pour in for nelson mandela, in rome, they remembered him with light. mandela visiting the city in 1998, he brought with him a message of peace, love, and tolerance. these messages now hang on the christmas decorations around the city of rome. organizers have also set off $5,000-foot rainbow peace flag dedicated to nelson mandela, thank you

for watching. earth rise is next.